Does My Child Need Occupational Therapy? What Parents Should Know

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When your child is learning and growing, it can be hard to track their development to ensure they aren’t falling behind. You may wonder if certain behaviors or a lack of skills in a certain area mean they need extra support.

Occupational therapy (OT) is a great resource for children who have a difficult time with some daily activities. It can help them with fine motor skills or completing self-care tasks.

Here’s what you need to know about OT and how to decide if it’s right for your child.

What Is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy (OT) helps people develop or regain daily skills (or occupations). These are skills that allow you to take care of yourself and function in daily life.

OT can benefit people recovering from serious injuries or illnesses. It can also help kids who are having a harder time developing these skills for the first time.

Through OT, people of all ages can find their independence and confidence. But it can be especially important for children when it comes to school and life-readiness. The OT skills they learn can positively affect the rest of their lives.

Occupational therapy is a holistic health approach that can help children who may need extra support in different areas of ability.

These areas include:

• Daily living skills.
• Fine and gross motor skills.
• Hand-eye coordination.
• Handwriting skills.
• Self-care and self-help skills.
• Sensory processing.
• Social interactions.
• Visual motor skills.

Occupational therapists are uniquely trained in mental and physical health. They can educate and empower kids to physically perform skills while also being aware of their emotional state.

As with other therapies, early intervention plays an important role in OT. The sooner your child is in OT working on skills, the better their chances are of creating habits that help them succeed in life.

Knowing the milestones and signs to look for can help ensure you get your child the help they need on time. But take a deep breath if you think you’re late in recognizing your child’s need for OT. OT at any time in their development can be beneficial.

What are the Signs that Your Child Needs Occupational Therapy?

Children grow and learn at different rates. Some developmental delays resolve with time and practice, but other skills may remain difficult or frustrating. It’s important to notice if your child is having difficulties with:

• Cognitive processing — Are they struggling to follow directions, listen to commands or stories, or complete puzzles?
• Coping with learning — Do they get frustrated quickly with certain activities or tend to avoid the activities they struggle with?
• Developmental milestones — Are they meeting the developmental milestones for their age group? Consider all categories: physical, social/emotional, language/communication, and cognitive.
• Emotional regulation — Are they able to use self-soothing techniques, or are they emotionally reactive?
• Fine motor skills — Do they have difficulty performing tasks like holding a pencil, drawing basic figures, or cutting with scissors?
• Hand-eye coordination — Can they complete actions without a struggle? For example, can they throw and catch a ball?
• Self-care tasks — Can they perform self-care tasks on their own? Can they button buttons, brush their teeth and hair, and tie their shoes?
• Sensory processing — Are they overly responsive or unresponsive to loud noises, stimulating environments, and different textures?
• Social situations — Are they interested in playing with their peers, and do they understand social cues?
• Difficulty with transitions— Do they struggle with changes in their environments or routines?

If your child is showing signs of difficulty in any of these areas, you may want to discuss occupational therapy with their pediatrician. Let your child’s provider know what you’ve been noticing at home. They can refer you to a pediatric occupational therapist.

What Happens During an Occupational Therapy Session?

During your child’s first OT session, their therapist will focus on getting to know them and you. They’ll also evaluate your child’s skills.

Pediatric occupational therapists tend to have a collaborative approach. That’s because parents and caregivers are part of the equation for OT success.

You can expect to be in the room with your child and their therapist during the evaluation. You can share any symptoms, habits, concerns, and questions you have.

This process should include you and any other caregivers in a way that makes you feel informed. That way, you learn how to help your child at home.

The therapist may ask your child to perform a variety of tasks, including:

• Fine motor skill tasks — Such as writing, coloring, or cutting with scissors.
• Games or puzzles — Such as building with blocks or solving a puzzle.
• Performing daily self-care tasks — Such as buttoning a shirt or putting on shoes.
• Sensory situations — Such as eating foods with different textures.

Once the occupational therapist has a better idea of your child’s needs, they’ll create a treatment plan based on their evaluation. They’ll share your child’s areas of strength and deficits, as well as their goals for future therapy sessions. Each session should include activities to enhance these goals as well as patient and caregiver education and home programs.

Your child’s therapist is also trained to treat conditions that can affect physical and mental growth, such as:

• Acute injuries.
• Amputation.
• Arthritis.
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Developmental delays.
• Feeding/eating disorders.
• Hand injuries.
• Neurological disorders, such as cerebral palsy, brain tumors, or traumatic brain injury.
• Visual motor and/or visual perceptual impairments.

If your child’s therapist has any other concerns, they’ll address those with you.

How Long Does OT Take?

Occupational therapy takes as long as your child needs. Unlearning and relearning or trying skills in a new way requires patience and commitment.

It’s normal for your child to take their time with progress. They’ll learn at their own pace, and their occupational therapist will cater to their needs.

The best way to support your child during their time in OT is to encourage and listen to them. Needing extra help with these skills is nothing for you or your child to feel ashamed about.

Make sure to take care of yourself, acknowledge your feelings, and talk with your child about their feelings. A collaborative, group effort can make learning that much easier — and even more fun!